


Red Hooded Girl

by disconcerting_feelings



Series: Demanding Chances [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, F/M, First Meetings, Mermaid Uzumaki Kushina, Merrow, Merrow Uzumaki Kushina, Mythical Beings & Creatures, One Shot, Pre-Relationship, can be read by itself, merrows are basically irish mermaids that wear red caps
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:26:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27095773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/disconcerting_feelings/pseuds/disconcerting_feelings
Summary: Minato stared down into the pond.Laying just beneath the surface of the water was a girl with long red hair. She blinked silently, staring back.Neither of them moved.He knew magical creatures existed of course, but it’s a lot different hearing it and seeing it. He knew creatures like her were supposed to be beautiful and distracting. He knew that he should walk away from her before she does anything to him.But he doesn’t.ORMinato meets mermaid!Kushina
Relationships: Namikaze Minato/Uzumaki Kushina
Series: Demanding Chances [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1977652
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	Red Hooded Girl

**Author's Note:**

> H-hi.. For those who know me, yes I am alive. Lots of stuff has been happening and I had trouble doing internet stuff and I broke promises and ugh. I think I'm not going to tumblr any time soon because of just how stressed it made me and how I feel like it's been too long to make up for anything. idk, I'll figure smth out
> 
> For everyone else!! Notes about merrows and stuff are at the end. This is sort of something I wanted to put in my Demanding Chances world but I never.. continued.... that... So here it is!!! Is it compliant with that fic? I don't know! Does it matter? Probably not!
> 
> Enjoy!

Minato stared down into the pond.

Laying just beneath the surface of the water was a girl with long red hair. She blinked silently, staring back.

Neither of them moved.

He knew magical creatures existed of course, but it’s a lot different hearing it and seeing it. He knew creatures like her were supposed to be beautiful and distracting. He knew that he should walk away from her before she does anything to him.

But he doesn’t.

Instead he sits himself down on the wet dirt, barely an inch away from the water.

A long beat passes. Finally, she moves up. He barely manages to not flinch, but he has a feeling she noticed anyway from the way her eyes track his movement.

She slowly peaks her head out from the water. 

He’s struck by how brilliantly red her hair is.

Distantly he notes the red hood resting on her hair and shoulders like a robe. There’s a frown on her face and he expects something to go wrong because that’s just what happens in situations like these, he’s read so many tragedies and heard so many warnings, but he knows he can’t leave now-

Then she speaks.

“Why are you staring at me.” She leans forward, not much, but enough to reveal under the water she is entirely naked.

Minato flushes, glancing away. Logically he knew mermaids don’t wear clothes, but it’s still startling to him. He looks back at her. There’s a voice screaming at him to leave, to understand that his curiosity and attraction is dangerous and more than likely not even real.

“Hello? What, can you not speak?” She puts her hands on the bank, getting closer and closer. But his fascination keeps him from pulling away. He can’t help but think she looks harmless. She would probably be in her twenties like him if she aged normally.  _ Maybe she does _ , he thinks.

“I can.”

She grins, the smile lighting her face up in a way that makes him move forward unknowingly, hoping for something. But when he moves, she tilts back, losing the smile.

“What are you doing here?” It’s accusatory, not quite dangerous but almost cautious. He smiles comfortingly on instinct, hoping to calm her.

“I thought I saw something by the pond.” He glances over her. “I was right.”

She would look angry if it wasn’t for the way she tugged her red hood nervously. “I don’t like strangers around my home.”   
  
He quirks an eyebrow. It may be hypocritical of him, especially now, but it doesn’t seem smart to let humans know where you live, dangerous magical creature abilities or not.

Opting not to give her a reason to kill him, he doesn’t mention the fact. Instead he states, “I like your hood.” It’s an obvious and simple opinion, yet she furiously blushes, dipping back under with only her eyes and hair exposed.

She recovers quickly though and he decides not to ask.

Pulling herself up again, this time allowing Minato to catch a glimpse of her large emerald tail, she says, “I didn’t know humans came out this far.”

He nods easily. “We don’t.” He confirms her unspoken question of whether he was human or not. “I didn’t know mermaids could be solitary.” That was the most odd thing about this. Lone mermaids weren’t common, especially not in this region.

She hums, “Some are.” Her eyes twinkle mischievously, a deep violet color, and he has to remind himself of the natural allure most mermaids use on humans. Before he can react, she grabs his forearms with a tight grip and swiftly takes him under the pond.

He struggles violently, his heart racing. Panic is all he can focus on as he kicks his way out of her grasp and bursts from the surface of the water, gasping and panting for air. He can’t see. He can’t see the shore and he knows he’s going to die.

He knew. He knew and he still thought it would be fine. He underestimated a magic being even though he _kne_ _ w _ -

A giggle cuts off his thoughts. There’s a soft touch on his arm and once again, like the magic seduced idiot he currently is, he doesn’t leap away from the danger. Prying his eyes open, he looks at the girl who crinkles her eyes in amusement, like she didn’t nearly give him a heart attack.

It takes a moment but he realizes she didn’t hold him down or make him struggle at all. She only tugged him in, waiting for him to swim up on his own. It- it was a joke.

He sighs shakily, the last bits of anxiety leaving him as he examines the mermaid’s joking gaze. He may be socially awkward but he can read people. She had no idea what she just did.

“I didn’t know you were so skittish.” She titters like he leaped from a tap on the shoulder as opposed to rightfully assuming a mermaid was drowning him.

He jumps slightly at the touch of her tail against his legs. The reaction makes her grin once more as she tugs on her hood.

“What’s your name?”

Minato gives her a deadpan stare and she raises her hands defensively. “What? I’m just asking. Not every fairy is out to get you, you know.” And that is actually concerning, since he figured she was just a mermaid, not considering the possibility of her being more dangerous than that. He’s never even seen a fairy before. He can’t help his worried expression, wondering if it’s too late to leave (he ignores how he should've left ages ago). “Okay! Grumpy. If it makes you feel better, I’m Kushina.”

Minato knows she’s not lying. Her name resonates with power despite there being no effect on any of their surroundings. He recalls his books that described a magic being’s name as shivering through the grass or echoing in the forest. But that doesn’t happen at all. Instead he just knows.

He can’t tell if it’s her magic or his disorientation or even just her smiling at him with her oddly-endearing sharp teeth, but he answers her.

“Alright then. I’m Minato.”

It feels heavy in his mouth and he knows he’s really ignoring all of his common sense today. But that’s hard to remember when Kushina’s tail flicks up at him, splashing water in his face, smirking at his yelp. And it’s nearly impossible when she laughs at him slapping water back at her, grasping her hood tightly as she dodges him unsuccessfully.

“You have no right to be that fast! You’re supposed to be human!” She yells, going for the offensive approach of slamming her tail into the water, cheering when he’s drenched on the third try.

“Okay! Okay! Time out please.”   
  
“Time out please.” She mocks backs like she’s in grade school. He can’t help but chuckle at how the phrase encapsulates her uncanny human-like attitude.

He turns to the bank, climbing out of the pond. There’s a grasp on his arm and he turns to her, surprised at how he barely tenses.

She’s looking at him with an open expression as she says, “Are you leaving?”

Fairies should not be that innocent sounding.

He’s sure he looks apologetic. “Sorry, but it’s getting late.” He’s not wrong. He knows it’s risky to walk around here in the dark, further evidenced by the dangerous (well, maybe not  _ dangerous _ , but potentially so) fairy he stumbled across in the daylight. He’d rather not test his luck and hope for a second beautiful and funny red-headed girl who wouldn’t eat him. That’s asking too much.

She pouts over exaggerated, clearly meant to be silly, but instead coming off as hurt-but-not-willing-to-admit-it. He turns fully to her. “I’ll be back soon, okay?” It’s a promise he shouldn’t make, but he can’t find it in himself to regret it as she lights up.

“You better. You’re…” She hesitates, “You’re really fun, Minato.”

He softly smiles, “You too, Kushina.”   
  
He waits and watches her slither back into the bottom of the pond, resembling underwater foliage or maybe an aquatic animal when hidden by the murkiness of the water. He slowly walks away, not able to take his mind off of everything that happened. Not able to forget just how happy and bright she was.

He wonders if being out of range of her magic will snap him out of it.

(He knows her magic has nothing to do with it.)

**Author's Note:**

> And there it is!
> 
> It doesn't matter here but since this is based on Demanding Chances this Minato is currently in training to be a monster hunter guy. Maybe. I don't know how much of it's compliant. So no, humans normally don't know about all this, but he does. 
> 
> Merrow notes!  
> \- Kushina is a merrow but Minato doesn't know that, he assumes she's a common mermaid like a siren at first (that's why he's pretty confused by her)  
> \- Merrows are like selkies in that their hat is what keeps them in their true form. So if her hat came off, she'd look human  
> \- I decided to go with the idea that merrows' hats are basically their souls, so Minato definitely came on strong  
> \- Yeah, she is using some of her 'allure' magic but she has no control over that and Minato doesn't really need magic to like her ;)  
> \- Her 'hat' basically is a scarf draped over her hair like a hood  
> \- Sirens and other creatures aren't all fairies in this universe, so Minato had no reason to assume she was one. And yeah, fairies are a little scarier than regular mermaids
> 
> And that seems to be all! Hope you enjoyed, sleep well!!


End file.
